More India from Nepal

Hello all -

Here I am in Nepal, but still trying to catch up on my wonderful time in India. After returning to Delhi, doing some much needed shopping in which I purchased my very own lengha, Vineeta and I flew to Ahmedabad to visit more of her family. At the airport we were greeted by her cousin Chotu. At home waiting for us was his dad Uncle (because I can't remember his first name), his wife Preeti, son Madhav (age 7), brother Sunil, his wife Kiran, and their son Thramil (also 7). Our first full day, Uncle took us and the boys to Gandhi Ashram - the ashram where Gandhi started his nonviolent resistance movement. What an inspiring place! It was located on the banks of the river . . . can't remember it's name either; just a few simple buildings and manicured lawns. There was also a museum that told the story of the movement through photos and artifacts.
That night Chotu and Preeti took Vineeta, me and the boys to the Indian version of Medieval Times. This place was like a theme park restaurant with old Gujrati performers, craftsmen and traditional food. We all had lots of fun.
The next day Sunil and Kiran took us out to this really nice Hindu temple called Swaminarayan. A couple of years ago there was a Pakistani terrorist attack there. They took the visitors hostage and 22 people were killed and another 20 or so injured. The security is very tight and it was impossible to take photos.
The temple itself was set back quite far on the lot and the foreground was a beautiful garden and oddly enough, a couple of carnival rides which Vineeta and I enjoyed with the boys after our tour of the temple and the grounds.
That afternoon, we had one of the greatest experiences of our trip - the Gujrati Handicraft Market aka Law Garden Market. It was here that we did most of our souvenir shopping, but in order not to get charged too much, we concocted a plan. Vineeta and I would move ahead of Kiran and Sunil and browse the stands 2 or 3 down the line. If we saw something we wanted, Vineeta would sneak back to them and let them know. When they arrived at the appropriate stand, they would bargain for us, give us a sign when the price was decent and then we would come over and pay. It was so much fun. The plan worked brilliantly and before we knew it we had spent 2 hours and countless rupees on various crafts.
Our last day in Ahmedabad started off with another market, but this time it was fixed prices. Preeti and Chotu took us to the Tibetan Refugee Market which although it wasn't nearly as exciting and the products were not all that diverse, the fixed prices made it much less stressful. We spent the rest of the day with finishing up mall shopping for shoes and other things Vineeta and I needed for our Indian outfits for the wedding. We returned to the house around 7pm, had our mandatory Chai tea and biscuits, played with the boys and had a wonderful final dinner with the whole family.
I had an amazing time with Vineeta's family throughout my time in India. It was really a blessing that I got to spend so much time with one of my best friends and get to know real families so well. They were all so incredibly welcoming and made sure to let me know that I was welcome back at any time.



Some Photos


The Great Taj Mahal